On 1 April New Zealand’s minimum wage is increasing from $14.75/hour to $15.25/hour (US$10.29), so I thought I’d take the opportunity to do one of the posts on The Economy I’ve been promising. Whenever the level of the minimum wage is discussed, there are those who predict that increasing it will lead to mass unemployment, and even those who say there should be no minimum wage at all – to let the market...
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8 March is International Women’s Day. Although women have made enormous strides towards equality just in my lifetime, there are still millions of women who are subjugated and even in the West, still plenty of anti-women laws. There are many countries I could pick on, but given that the United States is currently in the throes of an election process that will have major ramifications for the rights...
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There’s a new cartoon on Pliny the InBetween’s Evolving Perspectives website that speaks to what I’ve been saying about Ted Cruz for some time so, of course (blame physics), I felt compelled to share it with you: And another one from earlier: Pliny really has this race pegged! Share...
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Just when you thought the most ridiculous thing you’d read this year so far was my post about Saudi cleric Ali Al-Maliki confidently asserting that the West tampers with burgers so more female babies will be born there, I can go one better. According to MEMRI TV (Middle East Media Research Institute TV Monitor Project): Saudi cleric Sheikh Ateeq Al-Ateeq said in his fatwa show on the Saudi Ahwaz TV...
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Once again my Tau Kē (very cool) of the week comes via Amy Carparelli. She monitors the videos that come from ZSL (Zoological Society of London/London Zoo) and they released this one on Friday about the critically endangered pygmy three-toed sloth. Apparently it’s only since 2001 that this animal has been properly described by scientists. In their efforts to ensure the survival of the species, ZSL...
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